Justice in My Heart
by Bastion Lightz
Summary: So many worlds are all connected in a multiverse. Many of them conclude that one must have a special power to be a hero or else no one will care. But is that true? Join this collection of stories as Izuku Midoriya takes on the world to spread love and peace for all in different variations of himself. Third chapter of Magic Deku up
1. Sorcerer Hero Duke 1

_Justice in My Heart_

Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia. If I did I'd never get anything done because of critics.

Kei: The hell is this? *reads script* Oh, it's a series of short stories. But why?

Yusei: Lightz just has an issue that certain stories don't do when they begin theirs that he wants to do. So, enjoy this short story where Izuku gains magic powers to become a hero to do the right thing.

**_The Sorcerer Hero - Duke: Page 1_**

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April 5th, a bright day in a world where everyone around has these abilities called Quirks, but anyone reading this would already know this setting. Down in the Musutafu section of Tokyo, Japan, a sole boy can be seen at the top of a building nearing a fence.

'_He'__s Quirkless, so he__ should give up._'

The dreaded lack of life ever-present in his eyes, he stares at the top of the fence. His uncombed, olive hair blows in the spring wind to reveal his equally green eyes that slowly accept what is to come next.

'_I'm sorry Izuku! I'm so sorry!_'

With nothing left to do, the boy reaches over and grabs hold of the openings in the fence before he makes a steady climb up to the top.

'_Goodbye, Inko…_'

Eventually, the boy reaches the top. He almost falls backward but ends up correcting himself to prevent a mistake. His eyes stare down at the street below, multiple cars going by without a care or notice to his well being.

'_If you want to be a hero that badly, then here's a suggestion; take a swan dive off the roof and hope you get one in the next life!_'

What would they do if they did? They would probably talk him out of it or at least try to. No one would be able to; no one he knows would be here or be able to save him, especially after yesterday. Any attempt to rescue him would be pointless.

'_I'm sorry, young Midoriya. It's not wrong to dream, but I can't condone someone becoming a hero without power._'

"Besides, I have nothing to live for." He closes his eyes and inhales deeply. "At least, I tried to be a hero...' Leaning forward, he dives headfirst over the fence to embrace the cold touch of death.

THUD.

Sadly, the impact hits sooner than expected. Almost straight out of one of those parody films where someone falls onto something, the boy has hit something while still airborne. Opening his eyes he groans while holding his nose, rising from where he fell. His eyes refocus back onto the floor below, and it's completely see-through. He is standing on top of the air.

"Hello, little one." He turns around to face whoever called out to him and spots someone else out on whatever platform he's on. He can't fully depict who he or she is what with the cloaked appearance that looks like a wizard from a role-playing game, but it's most likely a hero coming to stop his suicide.

"Yes…" he mutters, before getting struck in the head by a karate chop. Wasn't he a couple of feet away a second ago?

"Do you have any idea what you just tried to do!?" he shouts, holding his hand back. The boy holds his head in pain, awaiting the expected lecture on valuing his life. "You don't do you? Well, let me tell you."

Here it comes. "You were just about to kill yourself by jumping off the roof of my apartment. By doing that, you open up an investigation involving your parents, everyone you know, and the building entirely. The police will show up and question the people inside, they'll notice my room filled with things I shouldn't have, and it's just one big fucking hassle I don't want to be a part of."

Surprised, the boy raises his head to face him. He did not expect that. "Huh?"

"No huh! You can't just go jumping off buildings like that; think about the people you get involved before doing something so selfish!" His words make him out to be selfish.

The man grabs the child and tosses him easily over the fence. He lands with a thud on his behind, rubbing it in pain. His tosser leaps over the fence landing right in front of him. "Alright, now wipe those tears away. Only a bitch enjoys it when a boy cries."

"No offense, but you're rather callous for someone talking to a suicidal child." He earns another karate chop.

"What are you, a critic? If you have an issue with the way I'm treating the whiny little crybaby you are wont to be then do something about it. Whether your Quirk is powerful or not is not something you need to listen to others for."

"I don't have a Quirk…" Hearing those words brings the mysterious person to pause staring down upon him. "My whole life, it's been tough for me: the people who used to be my friends bullied me, the people who are supposed to help me down the road of life turned a blind eye, and the one person I respected most even told me I could never be a hero."

That dead look returns to his face. "So you might as well let me jump because there is no point in continuing."

The person removes their hood, revealing himself to be a dark-skinned beauty of a woman. Her raven hair flows down off her face as yellow eyes focus upon the child, looking down on him as opposed to looking at him. "And it's that kind of attitude that sickens me. There is more to life than being a hero."

Her eyes then close, a smirk rising on her face. "But, if you still think you can pull it off I shall provide my assistance."

The boy raises his head in confusion. "What's your name, little one?"

"I-Izuku Midoriya…" Why is he telling her this? Is she going to help him out? Is that hope what draws him in?

She takes a bend at the knees, eyes burrowing deep into his orbs. Izuku turns bright red at the cheeks seeing just how beautiful she is. No girl except his mother has ever willingly gotten this close to him. Reading the book that is becoming his face, even more, she soon blinks before pushing him onto his back.

"How badly do you want to be a hero, Izuku Midoriya?"

"Really badly!" he says, it comes out as a half yell. "S-Sorry. I-"

"Don't apologize, little one." She stands tall, pointing down below at him. She then takes out a crimson card from her sleeve using only two fingers on the same hand before holding it to him with both hands. Taking a bow again she holds it out to him for him to take, in the same way, she presented.

Reading the card it states: "Julia Nico – Psychologist. Therapist. Archaeologist. Botanist? Garden of Earthly Delights, 18 Osako Street."

He turns the card over to read: "Open Tuesday to Friday 1100 to 1800."

"Appear during those times in two weeks, or forsake your chance." He raises his head and gasps when he sees no one around. The mysterious yet rude dark-skinned beauty is gone without a trace. He is left alone again.

"…spooky." He can't believe what he just went through. There he was on the verge of death and then this woman comes out of nowhere and offers him a chance.

A chance is something he's always wanted, something God or Buddha or even his idol has ever given him. Just thinking about it brings him to tears.

"And don't tell anyone why you're really going!" These last words are all he hears of her, enough to quell his tears of joy and hope.

Sadly, the minute he realizes his situation and has taken hold of life, he also comes to understand the repercussions of what he has left in the world.

Walking home an hour after his thoughts, he finds police cars stationed at his apartment. Sighing, he enters and climbs the floors to his apartment home. Inside he finds them, police sitting inside with his mother. She and the other adults immediately turn to the door as he steps in.

"Izuku…" she whispers, tearstains running down her face that disappear once more come down. She drops the piece of paper in her hands and runs to him quickly. "IZUKU!"

Stunned, the boy remains still as he holds him tightly. Not that he should; since he left the note this is the only natural thing for her to do. She still loves him after all, and he's all she has. But, knowing this fact and feeling this fact are not as similar as he thought; all he's done comes up as regret now.

Hours later, Izuku sits on a couch with his mother beside him. The police have already left and they're now alone. She hasn't left his side.

"Mom…" he looks over at her with apologetic eyes, "I'm-"

"No, I'm sorry," she says looking down unable to meet his gaze. "This whole time you've felt this way. I didn't know fully, but I still did nothing." The fabric dampens under her head. "I'm a terrible mother!"

"Mom, no!" He reaches out to take her hand. "It was my decision to make, no one else's."

"That doesn't make it better…" She wipes her face of the liquid sorrow. "Izuku, I want to help you. Please, let me do whatever I can…"

She reaches out to take his hand, caressing it soothingly. "Please."

Solemn in his thoughts, Izuku sighs through his nose. "Thank you, mom." He then hugs her, eyes repeating her actions. She wraps around him as well, her body slowly dehydrating from her sorrow.

After a while, Izuku says, "Mom, I'm sorry I scared you like that." He comes apart from her to face her. "I thought about it, and I don't feel this way anymore…" It's not completely true, but now he has more reason to move away from these thoughts.

"When I was going to do it, someone stopped me and talked to me." He stops here remembering her words, what Julia told him not to do. But, he can at least let his mom know why he didn't go through with it. "I… she…"

Inko looks at him with narrow eyes. "She what?"

He contemplates the choice he's about to make. If he's to appease his mother's worries this would be the best way. But if he does he'll be going against his word and what she wanted of him. Even though she won't know, he will.

Well, the least he can do is this. "She gave me this."

He takes the card out and shows it to her. As he did, she reads it the same way even confused at the botanist part. "Therapist…" Tears flow from her eyes more realizing in her way what happened. "Someone saw you and helped… thank goodness."

As her fingers clench the card in solemn joy, Izuku watches her and sighs out of relief. "I was thinking of seeing her again this weekend."

She faces her child, wiping her eyes. "Izuku, can I go see her first?"

"Uh…" Now he's sweating. He can't say no or else she'll find it suspicious, but if she goes she'll definitely know he told. Well, his mom comes first.

…

The following Saturday after the events of that Wednesday, Izuku Midoriya finds himself walking down the street. Dressed in casuals no one cares to look into, he approaches the building containing the roof that he's visited twice before this week.

Rapid footsteps bring Izuku closer and closer until the green-haired teenager reaches the building. Situated before the child is the Garden of Earthly Delights, though only the word Garden is spelled in English. It looks like one of those archaic fortune teller stores. He comes forth to the door and gives a knock. Only one tap of his precious knuckles is enough for the door to open despite the wood itself being of fine material to hold against him. It's almost out of a thriller movie.

Izuku takes a sigh and steps inside, looking around immediately. Inside he finds plenty of plants, probably why it said 'botanist' on the card. He also sees several chairs at a table along with strange antiquities. One such item is a stone statue no bigger than a dictionary, and another looks like a golden scepter. One even looks like it belongs to Egypt.

He can tell more than a few are connected to Egypt, including the ankh hanging from a wall. He even spots a grandfather clock, golden as well, sitting in the back. The clock itself looks like a sundial too.

Izuku steps further in to look around at his surroundings. He gets closer to the clock and sees words in English written on them. Reading the whole speech is impossible, but one notable word becomes a piece he can make out. "Atum?"

"Watch your mouth." Izuku jumps up in shock, quickly turning around to face the woman who snuck up on him just now. Relaxation is the easiest way to describe her wardrobe choice, her crimson blouse, and blue jeans an eyecatching choice for her.

"Oh!" He adjusts himself. "M-Miss Nico!"

"Oh, calm yourself little one, and take a seat." Upon snapping her fingers, he soon ends up sitting in a chair.

Looking around, Izuku also notes that he's at the table now. "Do you have a teleportation Quirk? No, that wouldn't explain how I fell on air before. So maybe a shifting Quirk that moves matter from place to place which would explain how I-"

"First off, stop that." Julia holds a finger up to shush him.

"Sorry."

"And stop apologizing."

"I'm sorry. Oh, wait, s-" A karate chop to the head shuts him up.

Julia sighs before leaning back in the seat she's on. "Alright, little one, hand over the card I gave you."

"Okay." He presents the card to her with both hands held, and she receives it.

"I had a little conversation with your mummy, and she was very thankful for what I did."

"Y-Yeah…" Izuku scratches his head sheepishly. "So, what do I do? How exactly will you help me become a hero? And, what exactly is your Quirk?"

"Oh, I don't have one." Her response brings shock to his face. He sits up and looks at her more credulously.

"No, that's a lie." She glares at him now.

"Did you just call me a liar?"

"Then how were you able to do all those things?"

She holds a hand before him, closed fist. "Through mental focus, discipline, and strenuous training, it is possible to draw in and manipulate energy inside and around you to perform magic." She then opens her hand at the very end of her sentence, and from her palm blue flames erupt.

The boy is fairly enthused. He gets closer to the flames, but then they're snuffed out without so much as a gust of wind that is blown out of her nose. He then faces Julia, who smiles down at him. "So… magic is real? And you're gonna help me be a hero by teaching me magic?!"

"Well, well, a smart boy." She points at him. "I'll see you tomorrow. Your training will begin then."

"Wait, it begins this weekend? And, training?"

"What, did you think I would just conveniently give you the power to use magic by giving you something that belongs to me and instantly make you a hero?" she asks snidely, her face gaining a smug grin. "There's no way such a helpful thing exists. This isn't a western world – if you want something important, you have to work for it."

"But, why isn't it starting today?"

"You were never going to start today; I just wanted you to come back and prove to me that you were trustworthy." She holds up the card with three fingers. "There's a spell on this card that would bring you to me should you decide to tell people what I don't want you to. Now go home and drink lots of water after your mum's donkatsu."

"Wait, how do you know that?" One blink follows. After that, Izuku looks around to find himself on his butt in front of his apartment door.

Getting up to his feet, he sighs. "Magic, huh?"

…

Sitting in her office this Sunday morning, Julia crosses one leg over the other while sipping on some tea in a white cup held in the right hand. The other hand types on a laptop placed before her on the table. She finishes a message and sends it.

Immediately, she gets a response, and types back, "Of course he's like that, but that's why he's perfect. Didn't you see the news story of him almost dying against that villain?"

Getting a response, her eyes lower morbidly. "He's nothing like him. If he was, I would have let him jump. I'm not making that mistake again."

There's a knock on the door. "Ooh, that's him! Gotta go." There's a reply. "I'M NOT A CRADLE ROBBER!"

She then leaves the window containing their chat and walks to the door. With a wave of her hand the door opens up, and Izuku stands before her at attention. "Relax, little one."

Izuku steps in after lowering his shoulders, smiling nervously at his dream finally in motion of coming true. Once inside, the door closes and a seat opens up at the table. "Can I ask a question before we begin?"

Humming while a finger holds up her chin, she asks, "Is it why I'm agreeing to do this?"

"Eh? How did you now that? Was that a magic spell?"

"Yes, it's called women's intuition." He almost falls. "You're worried about the ulterior motives behind me agreeing to teach you magic and why reveal its existence when no one else in the world knows it's true."

A nod from the boy confirms her thoughts. "Little one, I have already confirmed your honesty and good nature so I don't need to worry about you outing me. Of course, if you did, I'd just erase your memories."

Sweat proceeds to fall down his face. "You can do that?"

"Well, I'm better than the others at that considering my specialty." She smiles with pride at her words, a nose growth appropriate for her at this moment. "But now, onto why I chose you. I picked you because of how you described yourself to me."

"That's just it…" Here, Izuku sounds rather upset. "I'm just a Deku. I'm not athletic, I don't have a strong Quirk or even any, and I have nothing to compensate you with. I don't even know who you are. Not to mention earlier you told me that you got to use magic by training, which means anyone can do this. So why me?"

Julia sits back in her seat before pointing down in front of him. "Drink some tea and calm down."

"Tea?" He instinctively looks down at the hot cup in front of him adjacent to hers. "Oh." Lifting the steamy cup hot enough to fog, he blows away the smog and drinks like a dog that's still a pup. Smiling, he says, "This is delicious. What is it?"

"Hot pee with peach flavoring." His eyes turn wider than a saucer plate. She then chuckles through closed lips. "Just kidding. It's herbal peach tea, but I couldn't pass up the chance."

Sighing, Izuku blows the steam away and sips. Julia returns to her stoic expression, saying, "But little one, I chose you for a reason. You probably already knew I was planning to use you for something that has nothing to do with you, and honestly, I am. I had ulterior motives planned when I saw you on that roof the first time because I was impressed believing you could replace me."

She sighs nodding to the left. "Yes, that may make me a bad person, but I do so only because I believe in the potential those plans will bring up." From here, a smile grows halfway. "In the end, I believe in justice in your heart."

Pausing, Izuku looks up at her. "Justice?"

"You out of everyone at that scene moved to help that boy, even knowing you couldn't do a damn thing. Doing the right thing when no one will praise you." She places a hand on top of his head. "Before being a great hero, you have to be a great person, something people tend to forget when they want to become heroes. You've proven that."

A small smile spreads. "You can be a hero, little one."

* * *

Kei: And that's it. In the next chapter, we'll delve into the training. Or write a one-shot where Izuku builds a suit of armor for an entirely different story. It all depends on the reviews.


	2. Sorcerer Hero Duke 2

_Justice in My Heart_

Disclaimer: I don't care enough to own this series. It can be condemnable.

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_**The Sorcerer Hero Duke – Page 2**_

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"24!" He lifts himself over to his knees slowly.

"25!" He raises himself again, this time being less effective with sweat pouring down his pasty face.

"26!" One more time he pulls using only his abdomen and hip, but stops halfway up and falls back. "26…" He tries again. "26 is your limit."

Izuku falls flat on his back with a groan, breathing in hard. "My stomach hurts…"

"This isn't the end, little one," says Julia as she sits in mid-air. "You still need to do push-ups and then run laps."

Izuku pushes himself back up with his arms rolling over face down. He proceeds to do his set of push-ups. Around twelve he drops down, unable to move.

"Pathetic." Julia sighs before snapping her fingers. "We'll take a break."

Lying back unable to move anymore, Izuku inhales and exhales. The dark-skinned beauty remains in her meditating pose while keeping her eyes closed. She speaks, "Are you still wearing that necklace I gave you yesterday?"

"Of… course…" he says, pressing the emerald gem surrounded in gold hanging off his neck. "So… what exactly did you want… this to accomplish?"

She opens her eyes to look at him. "Little one, when is a bowl most useful?"

"… when it's emp-"

"When it's empty." Julia comes out of her meditation and stands on both feet before walking over to her table. "Anyone who puts in the time and knowledge can learn to use magic. But, ever since that glowing baby was born and Quirks started appearing, the ability to use magic was hindered as a result."

Julia takes out a cup from underneath the table and places it beside her already placed tea. She then snags a bottle of water from under the table as well. "Now, here's how it works. Before Quirks, this is-"

A ringing noise goes off halting her from continuing. She takes out a cell phone and answers the call, despite no name present. "Hello?"

"DON'T YOU DARE HANG UP. HEH HEH HEH HEH HE-" Julia hangs up and tosses the device elsewhere.

"Who was that?"

"No one."

"But you ans-"

"Any fucking way," her eyes silence him, "this is what people were before Quirks."

Izuku watches as she holds up the empty cup, trying to put what just transpired out of her mind. "Wizards and witches could draw in mana to use magic. Now that Quirks are around, these are what most people are." She then holds up the bottle and opens it. "And whenever those people try to use magic, this is what happens."

She pours her cup into Izuku's, and the overflow spills onto her table. "Quirks interfere with the flow of mana and prevents magic from being utilized unless it's similar to their Quirk." The pouring ceases. "Understand?"

With this bit of knowledge in his head, he starts to formulate some theories. "Hmm… so, someone with a fire Quirk can only use fire magic?"

"Preciously." She takes the overflowing cup and holds it over the empty one. "You on the other hand, since you lack a Quirk, are this." She reveals the empty cup and proceeds to pour her bottle into it. "Because you have nothing, you can take in mana as easily as I can."

She flicks her fingers to shatter the cup, all the water spilling out. "All that's left is to break down," with another snap the cup is restored, bigger than before, "and rebuild the cup bigger than before."

Getting the general gist, he proceeds to the next question. "What does this gem have to do with it?"

From her pocket, she pulls out a crimson handkerchief and drops it over her hand. She lifts it and reveals a small necklace. Hers is a golden pyramid turned upside down with the eye of Wudjat on it. "Simply put, it's to help you collect mana."

Julia clutches the pendant affectionately. "Unless you've been working in magic as long as I have, you won't be able to use magic without an item that allows you to draw in mana. Then it becomes second nature."

Izuku picks up the gemstone no bigger than the nail on his pinky. "So, this will allow me to use magic…"

"Focus on your stamina," she tells him before resuming her meditation. "When you can run two miles in less than 15 minutes, I'll teach you your first spell. Don't forget about the food schedule I added."

With that, training resumes for the emerald protagonist. Izuku would spend the rest of his day performing workout sessions and then dragging his feet back home at the end of it.

…

Monday at Aldera Junior High, the students gather together to attend their daily lessons. Many of them as they roam the halls watch a certain individual walk by. Off put by the appearance of this person they distance themselves from him, even more than they would have originally.

Walking down the hall, Bakugo glances to the left with a scowl. Any attempt to move forward is halted when he sees what everyone else witnesses as well. It's disturbing, to say the least. "What the fuck?"

Entering into school is Izuku Midoriya. But unlike he is usually, he looks extremely deflated and weak. While properly dressed he looks malnourished, his eyes are covered in dread and darkness, and he is walking in using a stick. It's morbid if you look at it so.

Someone watching the boy narrows his eyes, asking, "Who's that plain-looking guy? He looks familiar."

"That's Iruma Midomira I think," says a girl next to him. "Why does he looks half-dead?"

"Really? How come I don't remember him?"

Bakugo eavesdrops on their conversation while glaring at Izuku, narrowing his eyes while delivering his perfect scowl. The blond makes his way over to the tired boy, asking, "Oi, Deku, what the hell happened to you?"

"Just… tired…" is his reply, a false smile appearing on his face as he makes his way to class.

In truth, Izuku could hear what they were saying about him. While different, nothing's changed since his attempt. If he had gone through with it, they wouldn't even remember his name. It's sad to think about it. Tragic even.

In class, Izuku and Bakugo sit while going through the motions of their daily studies. His body riddled with exhaustion, the green-haired boy leans against his arm and hand as his vision turns blurry.

"_So pathetic, Deku." So many eyes on me from above, looking down as if I'm taking up space that belongs to God._

"_I can't believe someone like you would even bother trying to be a hero." Go ahead, say what you want. I've heard it all. It means nothing._

"_His mom probably hates him too. Her husband left them because she wanted to take care of this freak." My… My mom?_

"_Let's put this sucker out of his misery-" _

_**WHAM!**_

His head whips back up, the boy immediately clutching the bruised nose and burning red mark on his forehead. All heads in the class turn to face the noisy boy, followed by laughter once they understand what he did.

The class' obstinate teacher glares with annoyance at the boy. "Well, I'm so sorry that my lesson is so boring, Midoriya, but I expect you while you're in here to keep your eyes open! Otherwise, there's the door!"

"S-Sorry, sensei," says the boy, returning his eyes to the board. He then gets up out of his seat and stands.

"What are you doing?"

"Standing so I don't fall asleep again."

"Is my teaching that bad that you need to stand up to stay focused?" Regardless, the man returns to writing on the board.

Once finished, the students leave the classroom except for Izuku. Our emerald protagonist remains face down in his desk. 'I couldn't focus at all…'

Mustering enough strength, he gets up and heads for home. Walking down the hall, the boy gets pushed into aside hitting the wall. As he slides down his eyes catch the responsible teen walking by. "Watch where you're going, loser."

**Fingers clench into rock hard fists while he watches the guy leave. His dream rage manifests taking over the boy's expression. Running up, Izuku screams in anger as he lunges at the man, his hand now covered a crimson flood.**

A gasp brings him back to reality, Izuku dropping onto his behind. What were those thoughts just now? Did he just shove his hand through his chest?

Looking down at his hand he can see that it was all in his mind. But, it was so real. He could feel the red liquid on his hand; he could smell the metal aftershave; he could even feel the intense hatred overwhelming him for that second. It was just like his dream.

Heading home, the boy enters his apartment with the same tiredness he has been going through all day. Inside the living room, he enters, spotting his mother at the stove stirring a pot. "Hi, mom."

"Oh, welcome back Izuku!" She focuses on cooking as he walks by her. "I'm cooking up that recipe you gave me tonight."

That catches his attention. "Why couldn't we have that last night?"

"I'm sorry, but money's tight," she tells him before lifting her head. "Why are you doing this anyway?"

He looks aside with shame. "You leave out early, eat breakfast, do whatever, and then you come home from school looking like a broccoli mummy."

"Broccoli?"

"Izuku…" She turns to his completely, turning down the flames without looking. "Are you still trying to become a hero?"

"I…" Shaking his head, he heads off to his room. "It's none of your business!"

He closes the door behind him and lies face forward on his bed. "None of your business at all…"

As if he could confess this to her. Out of the many people who have abandoned him of his desire to be a hero, his mother was one of the first handful. It'd be hard to expect her to be supportive of him at this venture of his life, or at least in regards to something like that because of said abandonment. He can't even tell her about the fact that magic is real or even anyone else, or else the training ends; that was the deal he made with her.

…

"Keep it up!" Izuku can be seen thrusting his fists in the air and punches absolutely nothing. Drips of perspiration fall with each strike.

"98… 99… 100." After that, the drenched child drops down to a knee. Heavy breathing follows as he tries to recover.

"You're starting to slack," says Julia while looking down upon the young boy writhing on the floor. "Usually, you're aching or writhing from the training, but this is the bare minimum for you. What's wrong, little one?"

"Miss Nico, what's the point in all this?" he asks with the tone of a tired soul. "For a whole month, we've been training. But it's all been physical; why can't I learn any spells or magic?!"

"You're not ready for that yet." Julia flips through her book.

"Well, when will I be!" he shouts, his rise in tone causing a slight twitch in her eye. "Are you even training me to be a hero?! What will any of this accomplish?"

Each page of her book collides together and slams shut. She turns around to face him with a scowl. "Little one, you do not-"

"And please, stop calling me that! My name is Izuku Midoriya!" he shouts.

Staring, the woman sees it plain on his face. The fatigue of the training is catching up with him. His frustration is overtaking his judgment. 'The fuel for this is impatience.' Sighing, she says, "Let's go."

With a snap of her fingers, the room shifts about until they're now in a different location. Izuku looks around at the white room, with only a single target sign stationed up no more than 20 feet away. Turning back to his mentor, he is about to ask what's going on, only for her to raise a finger to silence him.

Julia points to his emerald necklace. "Now, your first magic lesson. We'll start with conjuring fire."

"Fire?" A quick roam to his mind has Izuku immediately compare it to something Kacchan can do.

"Since you're this far in your training, you should be able to lock onto the flow of mana. Look deep inside your heart and visualize heat."

Following her instructions, Izuku closes his eyes and concentrates. His body twitches as he feels something; a powerful heat hits him warning his entire body, giving him incredible energy that overwrites the fatigue he's been feeling earlier. 'Whoa… this is amazing…'

He reaches his hand before him, his left hand simmering in accordance to the magic he's summoning. 'Why am I able to call on this power so easily? Why only now?' The heat builds up until his hand brims with orange sparks. The fire grows until becoming noticeable, rising over his hand to resemble a fireball.

'This heat… it feels like Kacchan's…' Eyes crunch at the feel of his former friend using his Quirk on him in his remembrance.

"Now, try to control that fire. Shoot it at your target up ahead." She points over at the red board, awaiting his next move. "Imagine repelling the flames from your hand and guiding it to the target."

Giving her a look, a part of him begins to see that she's taking this rather well. Ordinarily, she would demean him at the first sign of failure. But now, she's quietly and calmly teaching him how to use fire magic. Izuku guesses that he was right to lash out.

Going back to the training he follows through with her advice and fires. The flames expel out, but to his surprise, they're quickly snuffed out before they reach four feet away. 'Eh?' "It… it went out?"

Shaking her head, Julia tells him, "There's not enough mana put into the spell. Increase and try again."

Grunting, Izuku refocuses on the guidance given before summoning his flames. The fireball once again brought back together with more vibrant heat emitting, the boy aims at the target and fires with an accompanying scream. This time, the fireball shoots out with enough force that the boy flies back a few feet throwing his aim off. On the left of the ball, the target gets blasted, leaving a singeing hole in its wake.

Izuku lies on the ground screaming in pain, holding his shoulder. "Ah! My shoulder!"

Sighing with his little predicament, Julia walks over to the little one and takes out a pillow from behind her. It slides just to the floor behind Izuku as he forces himself to stand. "You might want to lie down."

"No!" Izuku pushes himself up, biting down on his teeth to ignore the pain. "I can… I can still… keep… go-" Soon, Izuku drops down back to the floor, his head landing comfortably on the pillow with his eyes closed.

…

A good deal of time passes, with Izuku opening his sweaty eyes staring at the ceiling. Recognizing the main room, he sits up from the couch he's resting on. His body remains tired, however. "What happened?"

"Reality," is Julia's response while sitting adjacent in her chair, a steaming cup in her hand. "Soup?"

"Oh, thank you-" Scalding heat hits him square in the face. For that instance, he screams holding his face, for about four seconds. After that, he opens his eyes to realize his face is fine. "Huh? Oh."

"So, have you got it through your thick skull why you are to follow my training schedule?" she tells him, her tone less condescending and more authoritative. "Magic isn't something that just happens. You can't just receive something and automatically be good at it; any power that works like that isn't worth it in the end."

Finding some form of energy, Izuku stands up to face her, his irritation bleeding through that innocent face of his. "Maybe I did jump the gun and do something out of my league… But what did you expect!? Every day I come here and work hard under your schedule to perform at your impossibly high standards! And all you can say to me each day is how I have to do better!"

"And?"

"AND?!" Green hair grabbing comes next. "How can I expect to do better when you can't even give me words of encouragement or even say 'good job?!' Am I just here so you have someone to yell at?!"

Taking a moment to sit and listen, Julia adjusts herself. "I'm not the reason you failed earlier." Her eyes narrow at him despite standing above him. "You failed because you're a level 1 weakling trying to learn a level 10 ability because you decided to defy the wisdom of the very person who allowed you to become a hero in the first place!"

"No I'm-" Julia now stands, towering over him and shutting him up.

"And now you're getting an attitude because I'm not coddling your feelings!" Eyes still on him, she grabs his shoulder. "I set up those things for a reason. Did you even follow my nutrition plan to overcome the quick drain in energy?!"

He fumbles with his words for a bit, before she snaps, "No, you didn't. Otherwise, you'd be completely fine. That spell you conjured sapped all of your energy just to reach that level; you shouldn't have passed out from use unless you stopped following the plan."

A light push forces Izuku back onto the couch. Her expression calms before she says, "Until I say otherwise, your training is on pause, little one."

"W-What?"

"You said you wanted to be a hero, and yet you go against the training that will make it so. Do you want to be one, or do you just want to prove that you can?"

"W-What… what's the difference?"

"You need to understand just what you want. Only when you realize what you desire at the end of your dreams will the answer become clear." She grabs his emerald and pulls, snapping it off his neck.

"Go home and think about what you want." She pushes him, sending the boy through dimensions.

Sighing, Julia sits back in her seat. "...great. Now I gotta clean up the soup." She swipes her fingers across the air and points at a closet.

A mop walks out by itself flopping its threads like an octopus, enchanted by her spell. It swipes against the floor absorbing the soup she splashed onto Izuku. "Hopefully, he recovers the energy with that potion soup." Sitting down she watches her mop conclude its job, her thoughts returning to Izuku. "If you're still serious about becoming the hero the world needs, you'll come back regardless. Otherwise, you'll become-"

The world around her stops in an instance, the sound of ringing catching her thoughts. The sound comes from the old-fashioned phone left by her table. She goes over to it and picks up the handle. "Go away."

"**I ALREADY HAVE.**" The other line then hangs up.

Hanging up, the woman notices a simmering aura projected from it. "What did he mean by that?"

* * *

Kei: Welcome to the second chapter of Sorcerer Hero Duke. Next time we'll follow up from what was shown here. But yeah, what a bitch, right?


	3. Sorcerer Hero Duke 3

_Justice in My Heart_

Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia. I own the magic system being used here.

**_The Sorcerer Hero Duke – Page 3_**

* * *

"Mom…" Izuku enters his humble abode, nowhere near the same as his self-described apartment. It's been a few hours after leaving Julia's place, and that's all he can think about.

His mom stands at the stove cooking before turning over to see her son. "Izuku?" She watches her beloved child with his feet dragging against the floor with the major depression she's seen in him returned. "What happened?"

Taking a seat on the couch, Izuku slumps with a groan. "You don't have to worry about it…"

Looking at her child, Inko dispels the gas and walks over to the couch where he sits, staring him square in the eyes. Such a motion catches him off guard, causing him to look at her in shock. "Mom?"

"No." He can't help but blink now.

"N-No?"

"Not this time." She takes his hand. "Izuku, I don't know what you and that lady have been doing in your spare time, but," a squeeze follows, "I've never seen you so happy since. Despite what happened to you before, you were able to find happiness. Real happiness, and though I had no part in it, I was glad you could feel it."

Now he sees her saddened. "I was helpless as you suffered, putting on a smile just like yours as you walked through the world without anyone who believed in you, supported you, or even accepted you, and it hurts knowing how weak I was to let you go through all that."

"Mom…" She tightens her hold.

"Well, no more. I don't want you to return to that despair again. Please, talk to me if something happens. I want to be there for you, to support you…"

Sighing through the nose, Izuku realizes how terrible a son he's been. Aside from almost jumping off the roof, he never once spoke to her about what he's been doing or anything at all to put her at ease. She may not have said he could be a hero and he may not be able to tell her the whole truth, but she deserves far more than nothing.

"Mom… I'm sorry." He faces her properly. He'll be breaking her rule, but he can't lie to her any more than he needs to. "You know that therapist I've been seeing? She's more than just a therapist; she's actually been helping me become a hero."

Inko stares at him, skeptic. "Has she?"

"She has." Izuku sighs. "But, I made a mistake and overstepped. And now she's putting me on break." The boy's once stable expression breaks apart.

Swiftly, the boy finds himself in a hug held by her loving embrace. Inko keeps him close as she says, "It's okay, Izuku. We all make mistakes."

Her fingers run through his curly hair, soothing him before he could cry some more. The mother and son remain that way for a few, and she pulls free to look him in the eye lovingly. "Izuku, after all of that, do you still wish to become a hero?"

Sniffing to keep himself from crying, Izuku replies, "Yes."

"Then I'll support you from here to forever. Go and apologize, let her know you were wrong, and maybe she'll understand."

Honestly, that may be the only thing he can do. Actually, that is exactly what he plans to do whenever possible. "Thank you, mom."

"No problem, Izuku." Her hand rubs against his head. "Now, go and freshen up. Dinner will be ready."

"Okay."

Feeling better after that, Izuku heads into his room to get ready for dinner. He can smell kombu soup boiling as he thinks about it. His mom makes the best food after all. With everything that's happened, he feels that maybe it can all work out; he can become a hero, and now his mom wants to support him. Today, he starts a brand new life and starts the first day of the rest of it.

Entering his room, he drops his behind on his bed and proceeds to remove his socks and shirt. As he does, he stops. The boy can feel something wrong. 'What's this feeling in my heart?' He looks around for the source of his feeling.

His eyes stop down at his computer desk, where on display are his monitor, keyboard, and a familiar book that has the cover burnt to a crisp. While looking, he notices the dark fumes building up off of it.

Whatever defensive instinct he possesses kicks in when he jumps away going on guard. The spooky darkness billowing from his notebook is scaring him beyond anything and everything he's ever seen. Not even when he was almost choked out by that villain that tried to use him as a body has he ever been that afraid for his life.

"What is this?" The darkness builds up before exploding upward.

Izuku shields his eyes as the shadows spread. "What's going on?!"

"Izuku?" His mother calls out. "Is something wrong?"

His heart stops when he sees a crinkly, tar-colored hand stretch out from the darkness. Following the hand is an arm, as well as what he can only describe as the most horrifying thing he's ever seen.

The hand reaches out and pulls the rest of it out, an unholy terror he has never seen before. Izuku remains static, unable to move, or even breathe.

"Izuku, what happened?" Inko opens the door and steps into the room.

Her warm voice breaks the boy of his fear, just enough for him to turn around. Whatever is happening, he can't let her get involved. "Mom, stay back!"

"Why?" Such a question surprises him. Can she not see what he is?

"Mom, just get out of here-"

All of the following events happen faster than he could process. The specter that rose from his book flies past him, a gust of wind following. It rams itself into his mother, a splash of dark fumes dripping like water off of her after the collision. She falls backward, landing on her behind.

Once it all comes to him, Izuku rushes to her side. "Mom!" He takes a knee and then her hand. "Mom, are you okay!"

Inko groans as she accepts her son's hand allowing him to pull her up, using only a single hand thanks to his physic. Her eyes open to look down at him. "Mom."

Before he could continue, he finds himself unable to breathe at the moment. Looking down he discovers the reason; she's gripping his throat. "M-Mom?"

"**Mom?**" Izuku grabs her arm and tries to wrest free. Instead, her grip tightens and she lifts him well off the ground by afoot. "**Do I look like I could give birth to some stinky brat?**"

Izuku gets tossed into his desktop and computer. He smashes through, causing sparks and fires to explode upward and attack him. Inko stares down at her child, her ordinary green eyes now becoming black with golden irises. "**Now, making kids is different. But right now, I'm hungry.**"

She stretches her hand down, electricity sparking on the edge of her fingertips. "**You'll be the perfect little brunch.**"

Electricity sparks around her son, still unmoving from the actions that happened seconds before, and lifts him before herself. Her tongue laps around her opened mouth's lips. "**Now to…**"

She pauses, sniffing the boy. "**Wait… hmm… better yet…**" Inko drops her son, leaving him to slowly fall to the floor face down. "**See ya again, kiddo.**"

A groan escapes his throat as she walks out of the room, the damage his body has suffered sapping his physical and mental strength. His hand stretches out for her.

"M-Mom… don't go…" Darkness becomes him.

…

Opening his eyes, Izuku comes to find himself back to reality. The pain from earlier has long left him, but his body still feels like lead. For some reason, he's lying on something soft too, and there's a wet rag on his forehead.

Checking his surroundings and removing the rag, he realizes that he's inside the living room. He's lying on top of the couch, just like before when he burned himself out of energy. He glances at the corner of the room, where he sees her at the kitchen adjusting the kombu soup.

Julia strokes the pot, all the while dressed in some clandestine silver knight armor. Part of the armor has crimson on her gauntlets and legs. She wears a similarly red cape that flows to the floor like a curtain. She also has her hair wrapped in a braided bun. Across her armor are splashes of black smears.

"Are you okay, little one?" Shocked, Izuku flinches at her words. She has never shown actual concern about him beyond training before.

"No… no I'm not." Julia turns around to face him.

"I'm sorry this had to happen to you. He tricked me into taking my eyes away from you." Her hand grips, bending the metal surrounding her fingers as she angrily steps towards him.

"He…" The woman in his eyes seems hesitant to speak what she wishes to. "Julia, is there something about what you're teaching me that I need to know? What was that thing?!"

A few seconds pass before she does something that can be considered acknowledging his question. Julia looks him square in the eyes, apologetically. "What you saw was just one of many problems we sorcerers have faced and repelled for centuries. It is our sacred duty to protect the world against the demons and the evils they wrought upon the world of the living."

"The… demons?" She looks even more hesitant to tell him more.

"Yes, demons. Those Phantoms as we call them are denizens of the underworld trying to break free into the real world."

"… why?"

"To eat us." The poor green boy widens his eyes in shock. "And other stuff, but eating us is one thing most of them seek to do. Luckily, they can't just jump over to our world that easily. They need to possess humans using Gates filled with malice."

"Gates? Malice?" Julia holds up his notebook. "My hero notes!"

"A tiny little artifact constructed by the fear of you never becoming a hero, the anguish of your loneliness, and the hatred to others you expressed with your words; that's what this little book is, a combination of your deep dark emotions and thoughts."

The book ignites before she tosses it in the air into a trash bin behind her. As the boy watches his life's work turn to ash, she takes a seat before him in the air. That's when a thought occurs to him. "Wait a second… if that was true, why didn't it possess me sooner?"

"You have nothing to offer it. You're Quirkless after all." Julia takes a stand onto her feet before saying, "You don't know this, but there's a reason why having a Quirk makes it harder to use magic."

"And that is…"

"Those Phantoms are to blame." She raises a finger. "Those who possess Quirks are directly related to them, starting with that glowing baby."

A thought boils in his brain at what that could mean. Is she saying devils are the reason Quirks exist? "But why?"

"'Why' is something for you to look forward to." Now he feels a little angry. His mother's possessed by a demon, and she's yanking his chain. "But, there's no reason he shouldn't have eaten you."

"… you say 'he' like you know what it is…" Julia sighs with content.

"I might…" She faces him now. "I don't want to say before I confirm my suspicions."

She takes a seat next to him again. "But right now, I think there is one question I think you want to ask before anything else, little one."

Yes, indeed there is. Izuku needs the answer or else he'll never be able to rest. "Is there a way to save someone from possession?"

Sighing, Julia keeps her eyes forward before she answers him. "There are ways to sending these monsters back to hell, but if one of them possesses a human, there's only one that ensures the safety of the host. If you ever intend to reach that stage, you have to continue your training. Starting tomorrow."

Gasping, Izuku asks, "You mean-"

"It's my fault this happened; if you're ever going to find your mother and save her, you need to get strong enough to do so." She clasps her hands together and brings them apart, her bottom hand revealing a golden box. "But first, you must answer this question…"

Izuku remains silent as he listens to her, nervous as he is aware of what it could be. "Will you become a hero for true justice, to use your powers for others, to never tyrannize or murder or create harems of forced hearts?"

"… harem?" She shrugs at that.

"Wouldn't be the first time a sorcerer became one for that sole motivation." Sweat drops down his face. "But once again, do you swear not to abuse what you'll be taught? To use your powers against others for justice and not out of selfishness, revenge, resentment, or because you're a filthy pig?"

Without hesitation, he responds: "I do."

Staring him over deep with her yellow eyes, a small smile rises on her face. She hands the box over to her protege, and he looks over the top that holds a special message. "Then these are yours now."

''_To Atem'_?' He then opens it up. Inside are four gemstones resting in red velvet including the emerald she took, the other three being a ruby, a sapphire, and a yellow topaz. Each one gleams in the luminous chandelier up above.

"Tomorrow, wear that yellow one and we'll resume training."

"But…" She pats his head. "Ow!"

"We'll talk in the morning. Drink your soup and go rest."

"But…" That's another problem for him. "My mom's gone… don't I need to go into foster care or something?"

"Not if there's someone who can take care of and look after you," is her reply. "Besides, your mother is right here."

"Huh?" From above Julia, a crimson circle made of magic forms. It falls over her, altering her appearance. Her cheeks plump up and become peach in color, her eyes and hair become the same olive shade he possesses, and her armor bulks up by her stomach.

Flabbergasted, Izuku shouts, "Mom?!"

"No, little one." She pats his head again, causing him to yell once more. "Until we bring back your mother I will take her place. Now, go eat."

Izuku goes to the kitchen and pours himself a bowl of chicken and carrot kombu soup. While he indeed needs the food, he's not in the mood for eating particularly. Hell, he doesn't even know if he can sleep after this.

While eating, he looks over at Julia still wearing the face of his mom. She also enjoys the meal she finished. His eyes trace the armor she wears, asking, "What is-"

"Protective armor for fighting devils."

"… and the black smears?"

"Their blood." She slurps, returning to her meal.

Once done, Izuku washes his dish and makes his way to his bedroom, his no longer flaming bedroom. He flips over onto his bed, staring at the wreckage of his desktop. It's no longer sparking or aflame, so it's fine for now. At the moment, he's so tired to care.

What he can't ignore due to sleep is what is happening to his life; going from being Quirkless to learning magic, from succumbing to dark thoughts to getting reprimanded for skipping steps, from getting consoled by his mother to losing her. He should be going insane.

But, it is his reality. He has to accept it, or else he'll never move forward. He will never be able to save his mother. All he can do is get stronger. 'And hope that Julia can save her when she finds mom…' With that small bit of hope in his heart, Izuku closes his eyes asking his body to shut down and sleep.

'_Izuku…_' The boy rouses himself awake hearing his name. Even more, that voice belongs to his mother.

That's it. No other trace of her voice can be heard. "Mom…" He clutches his chest and lies back, tears slowly forming. "Mom!"

Out in the living room, Julia sits on the couch undressing the armor from her body, revealing herself in a black dress that hugs her body closely. The magic circle appears and passes through her, turning the woman back to normal. "Well, if I am to do this, then I better get packing."

Another magic circle appears in front of her, and she passes through. On the other side, she views her establishment. "It's been fun, but it's time to return to the pocket."

With a snap of her fingers, mana flows from her fingertips. She then taps against the side of the building. Archaic words come from her lips as she speaks a spell, causing her energy to spread across the establishment.

The building bends and folds inward from its many parts, almost a perfect puzzle coming undone. It shrinks down until assembling into a small flat box, one that she picks up and shoves into her cleavage. "Thank you, Phineas and Ferb."

Flinching, Julia turns around to quickly face another in the darkness of the night. Behind her stands Inko Midoriya. "You."

"**How's it going, uh… what name do you go by now, Julia?**" The dark-skinned beauty breathes deeply through her nostrils.

"What are you doing here?" White lightning sparks around her fingertips. "You have some nerve coming across the Master of Magicians."

"**That title lacks any weight while you're the only living sorcerer that still fights for justice. That's like Luke Skywalker being the strongest Jedi when he was just the only Jedi.**" A snake's hissing can be heard near Julia. "**Besides, I finally came back and I needed to see you once my memories returned.**"

"And to what reason have you to appear before me, you snake?"

"**I was hoping to catch up.**" Inko extends a hand, summoning darkness in the form of a sphere. "**I mean, how many times have I called you from the underworld to just ignore me like a debt collector?**"

"You had better get out of here right now or else I'll send you back to hell!" A white aura simmers off of the woman's body.

"**No, you won't.**" Inko laughs, retreating her hand, and dispelling her attack. "**You won't touch me. You're pretty attached to that little boy. You can't hurt me without hurting this woman, and if I die she is destroyed too.**"

Julia angrily stares down her opponent. "**There's only one way you can save her, or more correctly, only one way she can be saved. And the only person who can utilize that spell died fifty years ago. I forget; how did that feel watching what's-his-name die?**"

Sparks erupt around the surrounding area. Julia's golden eyes glow in the darkness as her teeth clench. "Is that why you chose to possess Inko Midoriya? As a deterrent for me?!"

"**Oh, good. Old age hasn't made you stupid.**" Inko walks away with a hand wave of cockiness. "Ta-ta."

"Royal Shaver." Gripping her hand, Julia forms a jousting lance made of lightning. She pulls back and throws, launching the lance at her. It narrowly misses Inko's head and pierces through a vending machine.

The machine explodes, sparks going everywhere. Inko disappears into the darkness.

She drops to her knees. All of her anger remains as tears flow down her closed eyes.

Tomorrow…

Bright and early for the day, Izuku steps out of his bedroom in shorts and a t-shirt. His eyes red and tired, he yawns while dragging his feet into the kitchen.

"Good morning, little one," says Julia while at the table, holding up a cup of tea. "Are you wearing that topaz?"

"Topaz?" Izuku looks down at the yellow gemstone on his neck. "Is that what this is called?"

"Indeed. Now," she places her cup down, revealing her own erubescent eyes, "go and perform your workouts and don't lose that."

"Julia, before I do that," he speaks, catching her eyes, "I have a question that I feel needs to be answered before I go further with anything."

Julia glares at him. "What?"

Inhaling, Izuku speaks his words. "You could have told me at any time that demons existed, that they could have come out through Gates like the one I made, that I could be a target for these things. Why did you not tell me this until last night when I got attacked? When my mom was taken from me? When I became completely alone?!"

Closing her eyes, she touches the liquid in her tea. "If I had told you from the beginning that your true enemies would be monsters from another world and not people who use their demonic abilities to ruin the lives of others as villains, you would simply do what everyone else who hears that would do before their training begins, and run away."

A drop of sweat slides down the side of his head. 'That's... not incorrect.' Of course, at this point there's no way he'd run away. It's rather manipulative to the precise detail if one thinks about it, almost as if she can see the future.

"Now, little one, you have some training to do. After that, we'll talk briefly about the five main elements, and then it's off to school."

"Wait, you're not gonna watch me?" She smirks.

"Do I need to?"

"Nope." More determined now, Izuku slaps himself awake and walks out the door.

Outside, our emerald protagonist comes out and stretches before going straight to push-ups. All thoughts of saving his mother in his head, any feelings of wither fade away as he finishes his set. He will do whatever it takes to set her free from whatever has her in its grasp.

Once done his sit-ups and squats, he takes a runner's pose focusing his eyes dead ahead. 'It won't be enough to do the bare minimum. I have to surpass my limits and go further!'

With a roar, he runs dead ahead to his future.

* * *

Kei: And now, we come to an end with this chapter of Duke. I should probably get to that other story, but I'm so caught up in what myself and the others have established here.


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